The best mp3 players

Video Review of RAmos T8HD

2010-01-30T11:18:00.000-08:00

Here is a video review of a nice PMP form Ramos.

The T8HD use the same body design as the older RAmos T8, there really is no difference between the two, even their weight is almost identical, however the quality of the actual screen seems to be better, even though its only 480 x 272 resolution, images do look nice on the 4.3" screen and it has fairly decent viewing angles.

The UI is exactly the same as we saw on the RAmos T11RK, so you can expect nice kinetic scrolling as well as album art music browsing. The T8HD has the RK2806 media processor at its core, so it is capable of support videos upto 1280 x 720 resolution and supports AVI, FLV, MKV and RMVB video formats, it also supports MP3, WMA, FLAC and APE audio formats.

Overall the RAmos T8HD is a nice touch screen player with a very interactive and attractive UI.

Specifications

System

Main Chip	Rockchip RK2806
Capacity	8GB
Expansion Slot	MicroSD Slot (1GB - 32GB)

Display

Screen Type	4.3" Touch Screen
Resolution	480 x 272
Languages	English, Simplified Chinese,

Audio Playback

Formats	MP3, WMA, WMA/VBR, APE, FLAC
Frequency Response	20HZ~20KHZ
Equalizer	Customizable EQ and 7 Preset EQ

Video Playback

Formats	MKV, RM, RMVB, AVI, FLV,
MAX FPS	30/FPS

Recording

Audio Format	WAV
Record Mode	Voice recording via built in Microphone

Playtime

Battery	1200mAh built in rechargeable Li-On battery
Audio	14hrs
Video	5hrs

Other Features

TV Out	Yes - Upto 720P
Picture	JPG, BMP, GIF
Text	Multi-line text display (TXT)
Other	Built in Speaker, Firmware Upgradable, Resume play for Video, Ebook and audio
Included Accessories	Headphones, USB Cable, Manual, TV Out cables

Interface

USB	USB 2.0 High Speed
Headphones	3.5mm headphone output

Chuwi P7II: Cheap PMP with full hd support at 1080p

2010-01-30T11:10:00.000-08:00

Chuwi P7II is the codename of the new touchscreen PMP – portable media player – that can playback videos with full HD support at 1080p.

The P7II has a 5-inch display with a resolution of 800×480 pixels, and has OGT functionality as well as a HDMI port. Thankfully it can playback a lot of different format files like OGG, APE, H.264 and MKV.

There are two versions of the Chuwi P7II for sale: 8GB for $120 and 16GB at $150.

iRiver Smart HD PMP Video

2010-01-30T11:06:00.000-08:00

Formerly dubbed the iRiver K1, the recently announced Smart HD should be a real alternative to the iPod Touch and the ZuneHD. The touchscreen of the Smart HD is quite responsive and the vuilt-in accelerometer has a few user interface tricks: you can tilt to browse. You can multitask as well by minimizing the player so you can browse. This is a WiFi-enabled player with a Windows CE operating system. If priced cheap enough it should be a good alternative to pricier touchscreen WiFi PMPs.

Archos 7: PMP with Android

2010-01-30T11:04:00.000-08:00

The Archos 7 with Android will be one of the possibilities that we find in the market about this nice PMP. And if the leaks are true, basic specifications and comes with an attractive price: around 200 euros.

The Archos 7 would have 7-inch screen with 800 × 480 pixels, 8GB internal memory, plus a webcam. Without knowing details of the autonomy or connectivity, we seem to offer something very basic to good price.

Ainol V8000HDV PMP with 1080p video support

2010-01-30T10:55:00.000-08:00

Ainol’s V8000HDV comes with a 4.3-inch 800×480 Wide-screen, adopts SC9800 chip, decode max up to 1280p. HD decoding and plays MKV, MOV, PMP, MP4 videos. Common media formats, such as MP3, WMA, WAV, are also supported of course. They all offer HDMI output and support USB-HOST function that allows users to plug USB drive, camera, cellphone, PDA or other USB devices into the PMP.

Ainol V8000HDV MP4 Player Specification:

Model	V8000HDV
Storage Media	Flash
Transmission Interface	USB 2.0 interface
Display System
Screen Size	4.3 inch
Screen Features	Wide-screen, 800x480 LCD display
Supported Languages	Simplified chinese,English
Photo View	Support picture browsing function
Text-reading	Support the text-reading function
Video system
Support video formats	TS, AVI, MP4, MPG, MKV, PSP, DAT, VOB, WMV, ASF, RM, RMVB, MOV, M2V, QT, M2A
Video playback	Max up to 1280p
Video Output	Support video output function, AV, Component, HDMI
Audio system
Support audio formats	MP3, WMA, APE, FLAC, OGG, AAC
Recording	Support recording function
OTG	Yes

Zen Mi a dock for Creative Krystal mp3 player

2008-11-23T06:40:00.001-08:00

Creative not only introduced yesterday, in China, their friendly Creative Zen Moo. They also presented a new dock, the Zen Mi, while in principle might seem even a mini stereo pretty ugly, is actually a dock designed exclusively for its Zen model Krystal.

This player with OLED screen and weighs only 22 grams, is not particularly known as that since it was announced in July it onyl has been sold in Asia.

Meizu M8 finished product!

2008-11-23T06:33:00.000-08:00

You won't believe what you are going to see in the next video. It's supposed to be the Meizu M8 finished product (Meizu Mini One).
The room is so dark that we have to guess that it's really a Meizu and not any other tactil Phone. At least it seems a very good phone. Although it runs Windows CE 5.0, the swiping touch control is almost as amazing as iPhone’s.
We also have to admit that the UI is sophisticated and beautiful. Screen resolution of the Meizu M8 is crisp.
It's expected to be sold in China this year.

The best Ipod Nano 4G clone!

2008-10-13T02:52:00.000-07:00

This is the best iPod Nano clone you'll eveer see far.
The Orango V580 has a 2.4-inch PMP that promises a “visual shock”.
it can play a lot fo files, such as RM, RMVB, FLV, AVI (Xvid / Divx), VOB, DAT and MP3, WMA, AAC plus FLAC, APE.
It’s also comes with an e-book reader, USB 2.0 and TF card expansion slot. No pricing yet.
http://images.imp3.net/article/2008/10/10/100142.jpg

Also from Rango is the V880, which already has a price but gone are the Nano clickwheel. The 350 yuan ($51) price of the V880 (2GB) should give you an idea how much the Nanoesque V580 will be going for

New PMP: WithView HM-U500

2008-01-31T13:29:00.001-08:00

WithView has announced the HM-U500 mini-PMP fairly comprehensive, equipped with a touchscreen 16M color 4.3 "(480 x 272px), with a capacity of 4GB or 8GB extensible via a SD card slot, a camera / camera, a tuner DMB-T, external speaker and a compatible MP3, WMV, OGG, JPG, BMP, PNG, AVI. Its dimensions are 112 x 80 x 12.5 mm for 91g, no price announced.

New firmware for Samsung P2, download it here!

2008-01-31T13:24:00.000-08:00

Samsung has just released their latest firmware update for the P2. The new firmware adds a bunch of new GUI enhancements and some new features, including a nice new album art viewer, a zoom function for videos, the ability to rotate text/photos, games, and much more. A cool video walkthrough of this 2nd Bluewave firmware (ver 3.07) was recently posted:

You can download the new firmware HERE

Video review Ramos RM970

2008-01-26T03:04:00.001-08:00

Video review made by m4nation of he fantastic PMP from Ramos: Ramos Rm970

Tomato PMP especifications

2008-01-26T02:56:00.000-08:00

At the moment it only can be bought in Korea, here you are, the latest PMP from Tomato.
As you can see in the pictures it looks nice and his features are promising:
Compact size PMP/DAP (2.4" LCD and only 56.6g)
Video and Audio playback
E-Book reader
FM radio and voice recorder
Photo viewer
MiniSD expansion Slot
Available form 2 to 4GB of internal memory, for only 66 EUR (4GB version).

Sony Mylo 2

2008-01-26T02:49:00.000-08:00

Released last 2006, the original Sony mylo has gotten a facelift. The new Sony mylo 2 will start shipping January 28, 2008. The new mylo still bears the features of the old mylo: QWERTY keyboard, Wi-Fi internet access, audio and video playback, built-in camera, and VoIP capability. Sony's mylo 2 however improves on the original and features 3.5-inch touchscreen, a number of new mylo widgets, built-in Skype VoIP, 1.3 megapixel camera, and upgraded Flash-enabled Web browsing. Whereas mylo was able to connect to WiFi via T-Mobile Hotspots, mylo 2 could connect via Wayport. That means mylo 2 users could connect to WiFi in more than 10,000 locations and 9,000+ McDonald's outlets. The mylo 2's MSRP is US$299.99.

Newman A6: That's exactly how new Zen Vision:M should be

2008-01-25T08:44:00.000-08:00

If you venture over to China, I'm sure you'll find no shortage of iPod clones. The knock-off market there is obviously huge and widely untamed. They clone other DAP brands as well, but I rarely ever get to see them. That's why I was pleasantly surprised when I spotted Creative's ZEN interface on a Chinese PMP:

The player is called the A6, and comes from a company called Newman. As you can see, they rip off the ZEN interface in its entirety. Now, I was going to use this space to do another one of my rants about how much I hate piracy, but instead I'll actually tell you more about this player.

As ironic, or sad as this is, the A6 sounds a lot like the true ZVM successor we've been waiting on. It's an HDD player ranging in size from 40 to 160GB, has a great 4.3" widescreen display (16 million colors), AVI support, and TV-out. It feels like a slap in the face that a knock-off company is releasing players with more desirable features than Creative is, but what can we do?

New taken from epizenter

SA 858 is just an iRiver G10 clone!

2008-01-25T08:37:00.000-08:00

The PMP SA 858 from the Chinese company JVJ is pretty similar to iRiver G10 ...

But unfortunately, the comparison stops as design, specifications later because it is not the same thing.

This model was equipped with a TFT screen of 2.8 ", an external speaker, a camera of 1.3 MP, a line-in AV, a TV output, a microphone, an FM tuner, an emulator for NES ROMs, a microSD slot and a capacity up to 2GB. It is backwards compatible AVI, FLV, WMV, ASF, MP3, WMA, WAV, JPEG. No price was announced.

Ainol will release an iPod Touch Clone + Analog TV

2008-01-23T12:08:00.000-08:00

Ainol Announces iPod Touch Clone + Analog TV
The Ainol T20 has the familiar looks we all come to love in Chinese Apple imitators, in which Ainol made significant contributions. The T20 has a 2.8-inch QVGA screen, which is navigated via tactile buttons (sorry) on the side. The retractable analog TV antenna is pretty cool, tough, even for a touchless iPod Touch Clone. Complete specs follows. Price is around 699 yuan or $97 for the 2GB.

* 2.8″QVGA display
* Video: AVI
* Audio: MP3, WMA, WAV, APE, FLAC lossless audio
* Other formats: JPEG, GIF, BMP, TXT
* TF card expansion
* Analog TV antenna

Especifications of Ainol V950

2008-01-23T12:00:00.000-08:00

Honestly, Ainol’s V950 PMP has a lot more in common with the LG Prada than Apple’s iPod Touch. The stylish black-and-white home page is a dead giveaway. It has a 2.8 “(320×240px) non-touch screen, which supports horizontal viewing. It comes with PlayFX for enhanced music and plays MP3, WMA, WAV, APE, FLAC, AVI, FLV, RM, RMVB, JPEG, GIF, BMP, TXT. Still without a price and should be available with 4GB and additional storage option via microSD.

Unboxing video from MP4Nation after the break.

Video review Onda VX747

2008-01-23T11:40:00.000-08:00

Dapsta has just completed a video preview of the new VX747 Onda. This mini-PMP with a capacity of 4GB or 8GB extensible via microSD slot, is equipped with a touchscreen TFT 3 "(400x240), an FM tuner, a microphone, games and 8EQ. It offers a native compatibility MP3, WMA, WAV, OGG, FLAC, AC3, AAC, APE, XVID AVI, ASF, MPG, MPEG, RMVB, RM, 3GP, MP4, FLV, JPEG, TXT, BMP, PNG, GIF and RSC. USB 2.0 / UMS, it costs $ 105 in Asia in its 4GB.

Shenzhen Everbest release the EM-2811

2008-01-23T11:20:00.001-08:00

Shenzhen Everbest has presented the new EM-2811! Despite its false air UMPC, it is not for this small device that is limited to the features of a mini-PMP all that is more conventional. It provides an effective screen QVGA TFT 2.8 ", an FM tuner, a speaker, a slot for miniSD card, a reader e-book and some games. Offers compatibility RMVB, AVI, MPEG1-2 - 4, WMV, 3GP, ASF, FLV, MP3, WAV, WMV, WMA, JPEG, BMP, GIF and PNG. prices No!
Shenzhen Everbest has presented the new EM-2811! Despite its false air UMPC, it is not for this small device that is limited to the features of a mini-PMP all that is more conventional. It provides an effective screen QVGA TFT 2.8 ", an FM tuner, a speaker, a slot for miniSD card, a reader e-book and some games. Offers compatibility RMVB, AVI, MPEG1-2 - 4, WMV, 3GP, ASF, FLV, MP3, WAV, WMV, WMA, JPEG, BMP, GIF and PNG. prices No!

iRiver presents IRiver WING! (CES 2008)

2008-01-11T14:56:00.000-08:00

The iRiver WING wifi is a portable device enabled with a full QWERTY keyboard and touch-screen. The WING supports VOIP plus web browser, e-mail and messaging.

The touch screen is 4 inches in size and has WVGA resolution (800 × 480px).
When iRiver WING offer is not clear. It is assumed that run Windows CE.

Posbro G100 nice PMP with WiMax, Wifi, Bluetooth and games

2008-01-10T11:10:00.000-08:00

A few months ago, we were talking about the iRiver G10 ... It would appear that he has turned into G100 of Posbro! This console WiMax / PMP is equipped with a touch-screen LCD 4 ", a directional pad slide, a connectivity WiMAX / Wi-Fi / Bluetooth for particular player online or browse the Internet and a compatible audio / video / photo. G100 can also act as a modem WiMax simply plugging into the USB to your computer. Available in Korea.

iRiver M20 is mixture of a super PMP and GPS!

2008-01-10T10:37:00.000-08:00

It seems that no one can stop iRiver at the moment , their "play of the day" is the M20, a PND (Personal Navigation Device) equipped with a 7 inches monitor, navigation functions, multimedia functions, DMB...
It has a DMB tuner and audio and video features of some sort... yup, pretty scarce on the info. I'm going to hazard a guess that the M20 uses a touchscreen, but that's only a guess.

No words on the pricing and availability

Iriver present a potentiall Iphone Killer

2008-01-09T12:53:00.000-08:00

One wonders if the Korea does not mark a return to power in the forefront of the international scene?

Today, iRiver exposes his stand on a mobile phone which would, according to some, the iPhone killer of the Korean brand. When looking more ready, we realize that this is a player W7 or W10 presented in 2007 with seemingly every part telephony.
It is equipped with a touch-screen TFT LCD 260k of WQVGA color 3 "(480 x 272), with a capacity of 4GB, a GPS, a mobile TV tuner (DMB?), A camera of 2MP, a compatible audio / video / photo, WiFi Internet browser compatible with Adobe Flash and can be 3G. This phone, which runs on Linux and more, apparently sold completely unblocked on the American. C'est Meizu who will not be happy! Stay tuned.

Playstation emulator for Iphone video (psx4iphone)

2008-01-09T11:52:00.000-08:00

The PSX emulator for iPhone that we mentioned on post below can be downloaded in its version 0.1.
Since the iPhone has much less power compared to the PSX (especially in paragraph graph), you can expect the games to run slow. As you can see, the buttons are also emulated and the touchscreen iPhone and not have to be a genius to predict that it will be difficult to achieve the combos 10 strokes of Tekken. Besides, a draft is quite interesting from a technical point of view.

Download PSX emulator for Iphone (psx4iphone

2008-01-09T11:47:00.000-08:00

People who already enjoy in their hands an Iphone can now enjoy an emulator of the original Playstation. The PSX Emulator is now available for download from the official website of the project and is capable of running on the screen different PSX games.

The operation, however, is quite complicated. As you can see in the picture, original gamepad buttons have been placed on the screens and take advantage of the touch screen to manejes games through them. It also lets you set up different aspects such as brightness or speed frames.

As is often the case with emulators PSX, games in two dimensions work quite well, but on the contrary it costs a lot to move the graphics in three dimensions. It is a project open for improvement and it is clear that the community Iphone4world are already working on looking at.

You can download it here

Creative Announces docks ... IPod!

2008-01-09T11:27:00.000-08:00

Creative has not released a new player, but a dock for iPod! The mark of Singapore has indeed presented to the ESC and GigaWorks HD50i TravelSound i80.

The HD50i GigaWorks 2.0 is a set with a dock for iPod, which enables the device to synchronize with your computer. The price is $ 200.

The TravelSound soundstation i80 is a portable iPod nano in the same style as the TravelSound i50 iPod Shuffle. The latter embarks an internal battery and a sound that seems pretty good, all for $ 80.

Lyra A6008 announced at CES 2008

2008-01-09T11:26:00.000-08:00

Audiovox, which now owns the RCA brand, the former subsidiary of Thomson, announced at CES the upcoming release of Lyra A6008. An MP3 of 8GB with a color screen of 2.4 "and a paved command type slide. No further information about him except his price at around $ 200. Stay tuned.

Kaon Mobie: PDA, PMP, UMPC

2008-01-09T11:20:00.000-08:00

Kaon Mobile Korean company, introduced at CES a device between PDA, PMP and UMPC ... The super PMP is equipped with a touch screen keyboard with slide and runs on Windows CE 5.0 Professional. There is not a lot of information about him, but we have seen that it has a slot SDIO / WiFi, a GPS option, with a capacity of 30GB and a compatible audio / video MP3, WMA, MPEG1/2/4, WMV7/8/9, DivX, XviD. Its price would be about $ 599 but will be available only in asia.

Via gmp3

Iriver has announced the Iriver Spinn (amazing player)

2008-01-08T06:07:00.000-08:00

As if to prove that it's not even close to backing out of the MP3 player market, iRiver debuted a whopping twelve new MP3 players at this year's CES. The company also introduced a sweet-looking, multi-functional home entertainment system as well as three E-Dictionary products and two GPS devices. Naturally, not all of the gadgets are available in the U.S., but it's still an impressive feat given the relatively small size of the company.

It was hard to narrow it down, but I think my favorite is the Spinn, which is still under development and--sadly--may not make it to the States. This compact media player features a unique spinning hinge that lets you "flip" pages on the screen (a la the iPhone) and otherwise easily navigate the device using just one hand. If nothing else, you gotta hand it to iRiver for its ability to think up innovative interfaces. And actually, the overall design of the Spinn is quite attractive. It's sleek and slim with a mostly brushed silver finish, and the 3.2-inch WQVGA screen (featuring a 480x272 pixel resolution) looks nice. In addition to music, video, and photo support, this player will offer a built-in FM tuner, voice recording, a text viewer and dictionary, support for Flash games, and the ability to receive DMB content (in the regions where it is available). The Spinn will even have integrated stereo Bluetooth functionality for those who prefer to do their listening sans wires. As iRiver is undecided on whether this player will make it to the U.S. market, there's no pricing at this time, but we do know that it's set to come in three capacities: 4GB, 8GB, and 16GB.

Via: Cnet

Creative will release the Zen V Video

2008-01-06T05:29:00.000-08:00

A new player have been listed on Creative's site called the "Zen V Video". The Zen V Plus is very good player, and an update to it would make sense.

While the ZEN tackles the higher end consumer, a 2nd gen Zen V would target those looking for a more basic player. If true, I imagine the screen size would be increased to 2.0" or higher, and perhaps an SD card slot added as well. Or, it could have just been a glitch. Like all other recent rumors, we'll find out in a matter of days.

LINK

Maxian E900, one of the best PMP out there... Guess where it's coming from

2007-12-04T08:19:00.000-08:00

Maxian has just announced the release of E900 Blue / Black. This is an update to the previous model (E900 DIC), with a new exterior color and a 60GB HDD ... The players looks excellent and his features make him almost perfect.

The TFT LCD touchscreen has 4.3 "(800x480 px) and16 million of colors.
The PMP also have a TV output, microphone and a slot for SD / MMC, 9EQ,
It runs on Windows CE 5.0 with the famous DaVinci chip that make him be able to playback a lot of the files:
MP3, MP2, MP4, WMA, WAV, OGG, AC3, AAC / AAC +, FLAC, APE, MPEG1, MPEG2, DivX 3.1, 4.xx, 5.xx, 6xx, XviD , WMV7/8/9, H.264, ISO MPEG-4 SP, VOB, DAT, MP4, ASF, SMI, RSC, JPEG, BMP, GIF, TIFF, RAW, PNG, TXT, DOC, XLS, PPT, PDF , HTML, SWF.

Size & weight: 78x155x21, 5mm to 325g.

IMO the Maxian E900 is almost perfect. It's easily one of the best PMP out there. We still don't know the price and probably we don't see it one the USA or Europe unless we import it...

I'm loving the chinese players!

Creative Zen 32GB: THE WORLD'S FIRST 32GB FLASH MEMORY-BASED PORTABLE MEDIA PLAYER

2007-12-03T12:13:00.000-08:00

Last week there was a lot of rumors about that and finally the rumors become reality.
CREATIVE INTRODUCES THE WORLD'S FIRST 32GB FLASH MEMORY-BASED PORTABLE MEDIA PLAYER WITH THE LATEST CREDIT CARD-SIZED ZEN.
Firstly it will be sold in Asia at the price of 550 Singapure dollars, so it should cost U$D 380 or 260€.
It's a good new for Creative to have the first 32GB flash memory based player, they probably have the best flash mp3 player, but anyway the Ipod Classic 80GB is only 240€ so they are pioneer on it but they won't break the market with that.

Via Creative Asia

ONDA VX848, probably the best cheap mp3 player

2007-12-01T10:35:00.000-08:00

The VX848 has a 2.4-inch QVGA screen, that's the same screen size than Zen Vision:M or Ipod Classic.

The design is pretty nice and the player is ultra-thin 10 mm.
On the audio side it can play MP3, WMA andWAV files, meanwhile on the video side the ONDA VX848 is quite a powerful movie machine; handling DivX/XviD video at 24 FPS.
Moreover it got FM radio, games and support JPEG Photo View

The price of this player was recently released for this player, at 449 CNY (approx $60 USD) for the 2GB model. This model will hit shelves in China next week, hopefully we can see it on European and American stores soon

ONDA VX989, video review

2007-12-01T10:26:00.000-08:00

Here you got a video preview of ONDA VX989.

These are the main features of the player:
The screen is a 2.8-inch QVGA (320 x 240) TFT LCD.
Formats supported: MP3, WMA, WAV, APE, FLAC, MPEG-4 (AVI), Xvid (QVGA at 20fps), JPG, LRC and TXT.
FM tuner
Microphone.

The best of all is that it's priced at only $99.

Creative Zen 32GB available in Europe!

2007-12-01T10:18:00.000-08:00

Since Monday Creative will be selling in Europe a 32GB version of the Creative Zen.
It will retail for €400 and be limited to 500 units.
There may not be too many people interested in a 32GB flash player at that price because Ipod Classic 80GB costs €240, but I think it’s a great accomplishment of Creative in that they are the first to maket with a 32GB player.

Newman L1200, half PMP, half digital camera

2007-11-30T03:02:00.000-08:00

Newman has released another half PMP, half Digital Camera. It’s the Newman L1200.

The Newman player incorporates a 12 megapixel camera into it’s design an 8X digital zoom, but doesn’t have optical zoom. The camera is located at one end of the PMP and should be rotatable up to 180 degrees

The 3-inch QVGA screen supports 260k colors.
The L1200 can also connect to a TV and actually record directly to the unit.
It also has a built-in USB 2.0 and SD/MMC card slot for more storage, you may need it because the device is only available at 2GB.

As a PMP it supports AVI videos with up to 24fps playback and MP3 audio files with JPEG and TXT support.

Personally I was expecting more from Newman. It’s cool to have a PMP with a 12MP camera, but it’s no so cool to have a camera with 12MP but without optical zoom and some PMP functions..
Anyway it is pretty cheap so you can use it to be the be a freaky flashy in your neighbourhood, but don’t expect it becomes your favourite player. It just cost 132 U$D, but I guess it only will be sold on Asia, so contact me if you need help to import it :)

CONCLUSION: Don’t expect amazing pictures from a PMP, or don’t expect a camera with good PMP functions.

Ramos RM970; we want it in America & Europe!

2007-11-29T03:16:00.000-08:00

Ramos, one of the new chinese manufacturers is going ot release a new player.
Ramos is developing a new portable media player that is looking really good. The new Ramos RM970 multilingual PMP will be equipped with a 3.0"-inch WQVGA LCD of 480 x 272 pixels, a 200MHz Swiss ARM7 processor and a 200MHz Rockchips DSP chip that make this PMP dual core.

With amazing codec support, it can play music in MP3, WAV, WMA, OGG, FLAC, RA, AAC, APE and unconverted video in MPEG-4 AVI, RM and RMVB. We only miss WMV and FLV.

And if that wasn't enough, rumors say that RM970 will feature a 3MPx camera (video capture supported), Bluetooth, GPS navigation, DAB, NES emulator, TV-IN, TV-OUT and OTG functionality. If that's true (I don't think so), I am pretty sure that Ramos RM970 will be the rookie and revalation of the year.

Currently, only a 2GB version has been announced. However, fans and experts speculate capacities up to 16GB. No word on price or release date yet, but it probably won't be release in America or Europe :(

Memup Orizon, the Cowon A3 alternative

2007-11-29T02:50:00.000-08:00

The french company Memup has released a new player, Memup Orizon:
Memup Orizon is a very good PMP and his desing is not revolutionary but it's cool enough, but I am afraid that it won't break the market, his price isn't really cheap considering the current prices of brands like Creative or Apple.
Anyway these player is more on the same line of latest Archos PMP orCowon A3. I think we can say it's a good alternative to Cowon A3, it's a little bit cheaper but also no so good as the Cowon player.

These are the mst important features of the player:
- 4.3" TFT LCD display with 16 million colour
- Size & Weight: 13,5x7,5x2,20cm - 231gr
- Video and photo library
- Video player, formats supported: AVI, Xvid, WMV, MJPG
- Photo viewer, formats supported: JPG, GIF and BMP
- Audio player, formats supported: MP3 and WMA
- 40 GB built-in hard disk drive: more than 7,500 songs or 40 movies
- Record from TV and all other video sources via the included TV/AV cable
- Records movies from the web
- SD/MMC card slot for data transfer and to extend storage capacity
- FM Radio player / recorder (20 station presets and podcasts)
- Digital voice recording
- E-book functions
- Built-in high output speaker
- Rechargeable 3.7V Lithium battery
- USB 2.0 for high-speed transfers: 40 times faster than USB 1.0

The must-have accessories:
Installation CD, USB cable, TV/AV cable, 100-240 V AC adapter,
Stereo headphones with volume control, Carrying case, Handstrap

Meizu M8 (MiniOne) will be at CES Las Vegas!

2007-11-27T12:51:00.000-08:00

Meizu's M8 (also known as the MiniOne) could be released on January!
The touchscreen phone, our favorite Iphone Killer will see a formal introduction at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas (CES) for mid-January, potentially representing the first public demonstration of a working model.
The actual launch may occur just a month later, according to the report, but a few monthe before that was I was expecting.
The touchscreen is said to be refined and very close in functionality to that of the Iphone.

The M8 is widely regarded as a smaller but potentially more feature-rich phone than the Iphone, with a 3-inch screen, a GPS receiver, ·and a removable battery known to be part of the final design and more features that can make he the definitive & best Ipod Killer
Anyway we still have doubts about how would the player-phone looks. Like the first picture or the 2nd one?

Personally I prefer the 2nd one, I guess yo do so...

Thanks for the info to the www

Ready to be the best HD player out there!

2007-11-24T04:08:00.000-08:00

They have not yet come to the market but once they do it they will undoubtedly be the best HD Players.

I am talking about Popcorn Hour Networked Media Tank (1st picture) and Dune HD Ultra (2nd picture), both use or will use the new chipset Sigma Designs EM8634 that stands out for its ability to play high definition videos up to 1080p and 1080i, it means they can play videos with 1920 × 1080 resolution.

The Popocornhour Networked Media Tank price will be 179 $, while for the Dune HD Ultra there are not too much information altought it looks a little bit better than the Popcorn Hour player.

I'll post the specifications of both player on future posts, by now should be enough with the pictures...

PS: Popcorn Hour, which is also called PopCorn Hour A100, finally will use Chipset EM8635. It's basically the same one than EM8634 but it doesn't have the CSS license code, so it can¡t play legally original DVD's.

Here you got the rear side of PopCorn Hour A100

Tvix M5000A review: One of the best hd multimedia players

2007-11-24T04:05:00.000-08:00

It's not an mp3 player neither a PMP, but it's one of the best HD Players of the market right now, so here you got this review taken from estosesale.com

The M5000A is only compatible with pre-formatted IDE hard drives and has no size restrictions. The process requires no screws or tools and once installed the device is ready to use. Hooking up your television to the device is simple as it can output on a wide range of connection types. The TiVX HD supports component, DVI, S-Video and composite for connecting to a television, with an accompanying RCA stereo or optical connection to transmit audio. USB 2.0 and 10/100Mbps Ethernet are also offered for PC streaming and file transfers.

Video playback

We tested the unit with a wide range of video files including low resolution and high definition video files and it handled them all well without any problems. It plays back AVI (XVID & DIVX), MPG, WMV, VOB, TP, TRP and M2P files.
The TiVX uses the EM8621 video processor which also supports WMV9 and WMV HD providing no DRM is instituted and MPEG 1, 2 & 4, DivX and XVID video codecs. We also found that it supported Divx HD as well without any flaws. Unfortunately for Mac lovers Quicktime and Quicktime HD formats are not supported and there are no plans to offer Quicktime support in future firmware upgrades.

Videos can be displayed in a variety of resolutions including 480i. 480p, 720p, 1080i and 1080p support as well. However, the resolution is not automatically chosen by the device. The user must set the resolution in the setup menu and videos are scaled when required to the preset resolution. Thankfully, the interpolation is handled quite well, except for extreme cases where source files have a resolution of 320×240 and below which is understandable. We suggest that you set the resolution at the native resolution of your television to avoid unnecessary interpolation.

It also have the provisioning to view subtitles, for the DVD make sure you include the subtitles files (obvious), and for the other media file just include the subtitule file (smi,sub,srt,aqt,utf,lrcfor example in the same folder as the movie.

Audio and Image Playback

The M5000A can play MP3, WAV, WMA, AAC, Ogg Vorbis, PCM, M4A audio formats but has no support for lossless formats like FLAC. The audio quality is excellent though dependant more on the quality of your speaker array or television speakers than the device itself. Files can be sorted by album name or alphabetically but advanced sorting features, like artist, album and genre are not available. ID3 Tags are supported but these are only used as a source of information via the “info” button on the remote control, rather than sorting data. We would have liked to see more advanced sorting options as people who use this device will most likely put their entire music collection on the hard drive and sorting through hundreds of folders could quickly become tedious. Lyrics are also supported, though only in .lrc format. If the title of the .lrc file and the music file are the same, lyrics will be displayed on the screen automatically.

Images can be displayed either individually, or in a slideshow with fade transitions however, only JPEG and BMP files are supported. We were disappointed that we couldn’t easily play back a music file while watching a slideshow. This is achievable but it needs to be planned, with the audio files being stored with the images in a specifically named “slideshow” folder on the root directory. Even then, only MP3 files are supported for slideshows.

Connecting to a PC

It’s really easy to connect the Tvix M500A to a PC via USB 2.0 as the TiVX HD was found by windows as a mass storage device with no drivers required.
However, the connection via Ethernet is rather complicated and even the step-by-step instructions in the manual may be too difficult for the average user. The device needs to be configured as part of the network and given a static IP address. Once this is done, the files you wish to access from the PC have to be shared within windows and placed in a specific folder labeled “tvixhd1″. The only other complaint we have about this process is that only one folder can be shared. We would have liked the freedom to explore the folder tree of our PC across multiple hard drives if needs be.

Finally, we found the on screen menu easy to use and intuitive and while the remote control isn’t the best but it does the job well enough.

The design of the device is incredibly cool though and a departure from the box-like media streamers on the market. The cylindrical shape, the attractive LED screen and the sturdy, textured aluminium casing all make for a sexy and stylish device that will look great as part of your AV set up.

Our biggest complaint with this unit is probably the price as it doesn’t come with a hard drive and once you factor in the additional cost you will incur, its value for money becomes limited.

Here you got all the specifications of this HD player, which is defenitely one of the best hd players out there right now:

Main Chipset	Sigma Design EM8621
VFD Display	7 Alpha-Numeric Character
VFD Display	5 Digit Numeric Display
Video	Format :.wmv, .avi, .mpg, .vob, .mp4, .asf, .tp, .trp
	Codec : MPEG 1 / 2 / 4, DivX, XVID
	Resolution Up to 1920 x 1080i
Audio	MP3, WMA, AAC, Ogg, PCM
Audio	Multimedia Digital Sound, DTS Pass Through and Down Mixing
Photo	BMP, JPG
Connectivity	USB2.0 Host 2 Ports USB2.0 Target 1 Port
	LAN(10/100Mbps)
	Multi I/O Jack (Optional Breakout Box)
AV In / Out	Video
	DVI, Component, S-Video, Composite,
	Audio
	Digital : Coaxial, Optical / Analog: Stereo
File System Formats	NTFS, FAT32
Subtitle	Text Subtitle : smi,sub,srt,aqt,utf,lrc / Image Subtitle : sub (with idx)
Compatible HDD	IDE HDD ( SATA HDDs are not supported)
ODD Support	Through USB 2.0 Host*
Language	English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Japanese, Korean
FAN	40mm Brushless FAN
FAN Control	Temperature Sensing Varialble Speed
Main Memory	Main Memory
Flash ROM	8 Mbyte
Internal Power	90~240V Free Voltage
Shape	Cylindrical
Dimension	131mm(Diameter) 185mm(Height)
Weight	1,200g (without HDD) 1,800g (with HDD)

Part of the review was taken from godgearguide

Artamyss R-RM 850: could be one of the best pmp

2007-11-24T04:03:00.000-08:00

Zune 2 is a worthy iPod rival, but it doesn't means that the Microsoft player won't be copied by other brands.
The new Artamyss R-RM 850 PMP is a worthy Zune 2 competitor!
It uses an LG-like touch-sensitive buttons. It boasts a 2.8-inch 320 x 240-pixel TFT screen and plays AVI, XVID, WMV, RM, RMVB, DAT, FLV, MP3, WMA, WAV, FLAC, APE, JPG, BMP, GIF, TXT. It’s also equipped with an FM radio and USB 2.0. The battery on this one lasts 15 hours on music playing and 4 hours video playback. Right now the only model avaible has 2gb and the price is really competitive, around 150$.

There are several mp3 players with same features than the Artamyss R-RM 850 but they used to be manufactured with cheap materials and unkown chipsets. I don't know if this ones is one of those, but if not it could be one of the best mp3 players.

Review: Cowon A2, one of the best players out there

2007-11-24T03:57:00.000-08:00

The Cowon A2 is a sleek, attractive, and all-encompassing portable video player with video-recording capability that suffers only when compared to the similarly appointed Archos AV500 Mobile DVR. We really dig some parts of the interface, but we were annoyed by others. While the A2 can play a huge number of audio and video formats, it does not currently support Windows Media DRM 10. On the plus side, the A2, which is available in 20GB ($380) and 30GB ($420) capacities, boasts excellent audio and video playback and recording quality, as well as solid battery life.

Design of Cowon A2 (20GB)
The Cowon A2 enters a luxury PVP domain currently dominated by the Archos AV500 and the Creative Zen Vision, and it fits right in. While both the Cowon (20GB and 40GB) and the Archos AV500 (30GB and 100GB) offer 4-inch-wide LCDs and PVR capability, Creative's Zen Vision does not record video or audio, and it includes only a 4:3, 3.7-inch screen. Both the Archos and the Creative players are slightly smaller and lighter than the 5.2-by-3.1-by-0.9-inch, 10.5-ounce 20GB Cowon, but the player's curved rectangular shape is easy on the hands and the eyes.

Controls are minimal and austere, with only five buttons adorning the clean A2 face: the familiar Cowon minithumbstick and the four cascading metallic buttons. The latter includes a Back key and three soft menu keys marked A, B, and C that correspond to onscreen options. The buttons flank the Cowon A2's centerpiece, its magnificent 4-inch-wide screen.

Other controls and connections are arrayed around the Cowon A2's perimeter. On the right spine is an indented power button, and on the top spine are the widely separated stereo speakers, with the mic falling in between. Headphone and power-adapter jacks flank a hatch covering dual A/V-in/out and USB jacks on the left spine. Identifying icons for these four jacks are embossed on the inside of the latch and are difficult to read. On the bottom spine is a triposition switch for LCD, hold, and A/V out.

Navigating the Cowon A2 is a mixed bag. The main menu is gorgeous and very PDA-like, with menu items such as Movie, Music, Photo, Text, and Radio, each represented by colorful icons. The background image (ours was soothing blue waves) is customizable, with tiny icons for the volume, the time, and the battery in the upper-right corner, as well as three contextual choices in the lower sliver of the screen that correspond to the A, B, and C buttons. The soft keys are convenient, but we'd often look down at the similar buttons to confirm the selection. The tiny thumbstick takes some time getting used to, especially when selecting down on an item, but it is at its worst when trying to navigate through dozens of folders and thousands of songs. It's no Apple Click Wheel. The thumbstick also serves as the volume control, so you'll need to navigate back to the playback screen to adjust the volume. Because the device is currently a UMS device (with its own advantages), you cannot browse music by album or track unless you organize your media in such a way. Cowon plans to release a firmware update that will sort music by ID3 tag.

Visually, the Cowon A2's interface is vivid and uncluttered. The main menu gives the A2 a PDA feel.

Despite tricky navigation (thank goodness for the well-placed Back button), the Cowon A2's solid graphics add to the player's appeal. For example, the music-playback screen is built around a pulsating graphic equalizer, with all kinds of track and setting information populating the readable screen. The A2's folder-tree file browser is PC-like, with preview thumbnails for photos and video--as with the Archos--that show up in an adjunct window as you pass over them. The radio screen is the best interface we've seen for a portable, and the recording interface is nice and simple, though we'd love sound-level meters. The graphical interface is way geeky and not a breeze to use.

Unlike the Archos--which requires a separate hub that enables video recording, including a higher-quality S-Video connection--the Cowon connects directly to a minijack-to-RCA cable familiar to anyone who's hooked up a camcorder to a TV; however, you have to use the included cable. Identical A/V cables that come with camcorders won't work for reasons we have yet to discover. Still, not having to travel with an Archos-like hub gives the Cowon A2 an edge in full-featured portability.

Unfortunately, the Cowon A2 doesn't have a built-in kickstand, but the included carrying case can prop the player up for hands-free viewing. One edge that the Archos AV500 has over the A2 is its removable battery, though Cowon A2 users will be pleased by the battery results (see Performance). Accessories include decent white earbuds, a USB device cable, a USB host cable, an A/V-in/out cable, an audio line-in cable, an AC adapter, a black pleather carrying case, a hand strap, an installation CD, and a user manual. There is no remote control to be found, and there are no other accessories available from Cowon.

Features of Cowon A2 (20GB)
The Cowon A2 is no stranger to features. It can play back MP3, WMA, WAV, MIDI, and OGG digital audio files natively, and you can create a playlist on the fly, though you can't save it; it also includes a top-notch FM radio/recorder. The A2 is a decent photo (JPEG, PNG, and BMP) viewer with audioless slide shows and a cool zoom feature, and it can be connected to most digital cameras for direct transfer. It can play back video files encoded in AVI, DivX/XviD, WMV, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, ASF, and the new open Matroska (.msk) standard but not motion JPEG.

But wait, there's more. The Cowon A2 can also be used as a text viewer and has a very capable USB 2.0 hard drive, and impressively, it makes an amazing audio recorder. Although all voice, line-in, and FM recordings have a maximum level of 192Kbps MP3, the quality--as well as the speed for recording and saving--is outstanding. To top it off, the A2 is an effective PVR that can record from video sources such as TV and cable at a maximum resolution of 640x480 at 1Mbps, as well as at a minimum resolution of 368x272 at 500Kbps; all files are recorded into ASF. Unlike the Archos PVPs, the A2 isn't Macrovision compliant, so you won't be able to copy directly from certain DVDs.

What stands out is the number of formats and resolutions of video files the Cowon A2 can handle--without video conversion. Since there are numerous formats, Cowon has included software to convert noncompatible files. Chances are that the A2 will play a decent percentage of video files you throw at it. The latest firmware update (v 1.61E) gives the A2 the ability to multitask--that is, it allows viewing of photos or text while listening to music, something the Archos PVPs aren't able to do yet.

Still, there remain a few holes in the feature set that we hope Cowon can address soon. First, the Cowon A2 is not compatible with WMA DRM and WMV DRM files, so it's not a PlaysForSure device. Cowon plans to release a firmware upgrade in early 2006 that will make the A2 compatible with store- and subscription-based audio and video. Also, unlike with the Zen Vision, you can't sync your Microsoft PIM programs, and the A2 doesn't support TiVo To Go, either. Finally, timed recording with the PVR is badly handled. Instead of the timer/recorder function listed among the options in the Record menu, you have to go to the system settings under Setup from the main menu and set the alarm, making sure you pick the right mode--the Record Line-in Video mode, not Movie Player.

All content is listed alphabetically in the Cowon A2's varying sections, but a lot of material is buried deep in folders that require some drilling, depending on how it was transferred to the device. For instance, to find a TV show recorded by the PVR, you need to click on the Movie folder (this really should be labeled Video), which brings you to two folders: Movie, which stores files transferred from your PC, and Record, which stores PVR recordings. Click Record, and you get a video folder, inside of which, finally, is your list of recordings. PVR recordings are listed in some arcane Cowon nomenclature (Video_051216.001.asf, for example) instead of something handier, such as the time and the date of the recording, with no way to relabel them on the device.

Getting content from your PC to the Cowon A2 is equally annoying. You can use Windows Explorer or the included JetShell Pro content-management software, but both suffer from the same overarching problem: Neither discriminates between compatible and noncompatible content. We synced all our video, which included several DRM WMV files, and music, which included a substantial number of Napster subscription tracks and AAC files, on to the A2. JetShell, which offers one of the most convoluted interfaces we've come across, did not screen out these incompatible files. Subsequent attempts to play an incompatible file froze the player, usually requiring a reboot. Since JetShell Pro doesn't list the DRM condition of music files, it's impossible to weed out potentially offending tracks before syncing.

We do like the media player while it's playing music and/or video. In addition to the technostylish graphics, the player settings can be quickly accessed without having to back out into the Menu settings area. This means you can apply the Cowon A2's impressive set of EQ and BBE effects on the fly, and you can hear results in real time. The same goes for video playback, which also features a bookmark option and instant scrubbing 10 to 12 seconds forward or backward with the tap of the thumbstick, though the Archos's controls are better.

Performance of Cowon A2 (20GB)
Like the Archos AV500 Mobile DVR, the Cowon A2 has a dazzling 480x272-pixel, 4-inch-wide screen that makes videos look sharp and bright, even in daylight and at varying viewing angles. Downloaded DivX content, such as trailers for Batman Returns and War of the Worlds, was glossy and crisp, with sharp details sans jaggies; bright colors with only occasional video noise on solid color backgrounds; and no false contouring in scenes with gradual gradations between light and dark, such as sunsets, shadows, or spotlights. Even tiny text was amazingly easy to read. JPEGs, however, seemed a bit pixelated, and certain patterns produced moiré effects.

When recording, letterboxed or HD content expands beyond the normal 16:9 LCD area, cutting off some of the image around the edges. For instance, if you record an NFL game from an HD channel, you'll likely lose some of the score box. For movies, this minor cropping is annoying, but it is not horrible and is certainly better than not seeing the full frame. But oddly, video isn't actually recorded in this zoomed-in mode. The Cowon A2's 16:9 playback mode stretches the picture only horizontally, not vertically. Worse, when you record in either of the 640x480 modes, the picture mysteriously disappears from the A2's LCD, leading you to believe that the unit isn't recording a picture--but it is. Also, piping video content out to a larger TV is expectedly pixelated, though viewable on small TVs.

Although the Cowon A2 sounds great with the included white earphones, the built-in speakers, while crisp, are not very loud. In fact, because they point up, they disperse the sound into the air, and therefore, the volume needs to be cranked up. Back to sound quality: Digital audio sounds excellent, and the EQs (Normal, Rock, Jazz, Classical, Pop, Vocal, and User) and effects (BBE, Mach3Bass, 3D surround) make a measurable difference for those who like to sculpt their sound. Voice and line-in recording are also strengths of this device, while the FM radio with its 25 autoscan presets comes in bright and clear.

Rated battery life for the Cowon A2 is 18 hours for audio and an international-flight-friendly 10 hours for video--both are more bountiful than that of the Archos, which is rated for, respectively, 15 hours and 4.5 hours, and the Creative Labs, which is rated for 13 hours and 4.5 hours. CNET Labs was able to coax 16 hours of audio playback and 9.2 hours of video playback out of the A2, both slightly less than the rating but still excellent results.